The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has retrieved GHC132 million of unpaid contributions through court action for the half year.
The amount is part of proceeds realised from the 2,272 pension contribution cases prosecuted by the Trust from January to June this year.
Last year, the Trust recovered GHC212 million of unpaid contributions through a similar process following the filing of 7,616 cases at the court.
This came to light during this year’s Employers Breakfast Meeting organised by SSNIT yesterday in Accra.
The event, which brought together various stakeholders including employers and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), was on the theme “Providing pension for all, the role of the Employer.”
Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, said, currently, more than 1.9 million active contributors were signed on to its pension scheme.
Of the number, 1.2 million were employees in the private sector, and added that 694,636 were public sector employees, while 27,501 were self- employed contributors.
To drive contributions, he said, SSNIT launched the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED) initiative to fulfil the mandate of SSNIT to extend pension coverage to all workers, including the self-employed.
He explained that, the initiative would help to redefine social security in the country and give hope to the self-employed that they could also retire in dignity and comfort.
“We have focused on improving self-employed contributions base, which is hovering around 27,000 and is very low. This means that self-employed persons mostly rely on the state or family and friends for financial support when they are old and retired.
This unbalanced coverage of workers is a sad commentary of our social protection system, and we have a responsibility to change this narrative. The SSNIT scheme is not for formal sector employees only; it is for all workers in Ghana,” Dr Ofori-Tenkorang noted.
Highlighting the benefits of regular payment of SSNIT contributions, he explained that, it leads to enhanced productivity and helps to boost the morale of workers as well as that of stakeholders who transact business with the paying entity.
Additionally, he said, it ensured industrial harmony and projects the establishment as a good corporate entity and prevented the payment of penalties.
Dr Ofori-Tenkorang called on self-employed workers who had not registered under the scheme to visit the nearest SSNIT office, contribute regularly on their right earnings using SSNITPAY, an electronic payment platform, via mobile money and debit cards.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
